By Lee Youkyung SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that it will begin sales of a modified version of its Galaxy Tab tablet computer in Germany next week, as it seeks to bypass a sales ban asserted by Apple Inc. in the European country.

The revised Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the German market has been renamed the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and has two design modifications from the original version, the company's spokesman in Seoul said. The remark confirms earlier reports by German media.

In the new model, Samsung modified the design of the metal frame of the 10-inch tablet computer and the location of the speakers, the official said.

The move comes as the Korean firm seeks to quickly resume sales of its high-end mobile devices before the key holiday season.

Samsung's mobile business in Germany hit a snag in September, when a German court ruled in favor of Apple that Samsung's tablet computers infringed upon Apple's design patents and banned sales and marketing activities of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

"Samsung has upped the ante for Apple and its lawyers," Florian Mueller, a Germany-based patent consultant, said on his blog, Foss Patents. "It seems to me that this design resulted from teamwork between Samsung's German lawyers and its product design group."

Samsung and Apple are locked in about 30 patent lawsuits in 10 countries spanning Europe, Asia and North America.